RUBY LEONA KIRKHAM PACK

RUBY LEONA KIRKHAM PACK

Ruby, seventh daughter of George and Mary Russon Kirkham was born August 19, 1897, Lehi, Utah. Ruby was baptized by her father August 19, 1905 at Saratoga Springs. Her childhood and youth was spent entirely in Lehi, attending elementary schools, high school and enjoying her attendance at Church. She had a beautiful singing voice and along with her many friends was a member of the Ward and Stake Choirs. Ruby played trombone in the Lehi High School Ladies Band. Ruby was loved by all, a very pleasant disposition, sociable, happy and helpful to all her friends, brothers and sisters.

After her High School days, Ruby was employed at the People’s Co-op., Lehi, Utah, and for many years was a successful saleslady there. She then moved to Salt Lake City and was employed at Montgomery Ward’s large store where she was made head Saleslady.

At this time, 1921, she married Blaine Moody Pack, November 14, 1921 and lived in Salt Lake City. Her children, son Blaine Willard was born 22 April 1922 in Lehi, Utah and daughter Genele was born July 7, 1924 in Salt Lake City, Utah.

She resided in Salt Lake City until her death which occurred October 31, 1960.

Written by: Bessy LaVerne Kirkham Fillerup, daughter of George and Sarah Russon Kirkham March 21, 19721

Children of Blaine Moody and Ruby Leona Kirkham Pack

Blaine Willard

Genele Kirkham

WHY FAMILY HISTORY? WHY A FAMILY HISTORIAN?

WHY FAMILY HISTORY?  WHY A FAMILY HISTORIAN?

The other night, as I was telling my sister a story about a distant relative, and how excited I was to know this heretofore unknown story, she asked me when I first became interested in family history. The story is on my Kirkham/Wrigley Blog of how I started doing genealogy with my Grandmother Kirkham when I was eight years old.


She then asked why I thought I had such an unusual interest in Family History – knowing that there are many who do have that interest, and many who don’t.

I’ve though a lot about what she asked.

As a psychology major, I am interested in what makes a person what he is. My favorite model or theory is that we are one-third each of the following: Environment, Genetics, & Inherent Personality.

My environment is determined by my family. My childhood environment has a lot to do with how I see the world and respond to it. My parents and extended family created that environment. They in turn were influence by their parents and extended family, and we go back that way for hundreds of years. So part of me looks to Family History to find out who I am. . My adult environment continues to shape me, and is colored greatly by my family relationships.

Again, genetics creates at least a third of what I am. So I look to my parents, and go back in time, to see where I got the characteristics that made me what I am. Then I look at what my ancestors did with those characteristics they seemed to have, and it gives me clues of what I can accomplish, or how I can circumvent or cope with negative genetic downloads. Even my adopted children and grandchildren can look to the past and compare genetic similarities.

I see Inherent Personality coming from a life before this world – much of it existing forever (though I little understand this concept,) and some of it existing because of who my original Heavenly Parents were. Interesting. Again, family is behind what I am.

A study of family is a study of self, and a study of the extension of self.

I look at the pictures of those people I have known. I remember who they are, how they lived, and how they handled life. It teaches me. I look at the pictures of people who died before my memory. Again, I remember their stories and I am taught. And there are those who have no stories with their pictures. But deep inside I know their story. It isn’t much different than mine. They struggled and made mistakes and had successes. They persisted, and were resilient, and survived. And when there is no picture, their story, or the tales of their times form the picture in my mind. And again I learn.

My mother recently passed away. My father passed away 12 years ago. My grandparents are long gone. But to me, they sometimes walk side by side with me – through my memory of them. And little known to my grandchildren, they walk side by side with them – through me. Their influence goes on forever. I am influenced by myriads of generations past.

Why do I like doing Family History? I decided that genetically, environmentally, and inherently , the desire to know from whence I came, and how, has been deeply instilled in my heart and soul. I learn who I am as I learn who they were.

ECKERSLEY HISTORIES

Following are histories for three of the four daughters of William Eckersley and Hannah Hardy Eckersley.
These three girls, along with thier sister came to America when they were children.  There, their father was murdered in St. Louis, and their mother had to find a way to get her family of four girls to Salt Lake City.  For more information about this persevering and faithful family, see the histories for Hannah Hardy Eckersley Crompton, William Eckersley, and John Crompton. 

John Crompton and Hannah had two daughters.  I am hoping to find someone who has information or histories about the fourth Eckersley daughter and the two Crompton daughters. 
Names:
Mary Eckersley md. Peter Erickson
Margaret Emma Crompton md. William James Rushton (settled in Snake River Valley nr. IF)
Elivra Crompton md.  James Ephriam Steele (settled in Snake River Valley nr. IF)

SARAH ECKERSLEY ROBINSON

HISTORY OF SARAH ECKERSLEY ROBINSON

(by a granddaughter, Mildred G. Weaver)

Sarah Eckersley was the daughter of William and Hannah Hardy Eckersley, and was born 15th of February, 1844, at Oldham, Lancaster County, England.

Hannah Hardy, Sarah’s mother, was born at Oldham, Lancashire County, England, on the 19th of June, 1815.

William Eckersley, Sarah’s father, was born the year 1810, at Oldham, Lancaster County, England. He was married to Hannah in the year of 1833 when she was 18 and he was 23.

To this union came four daughters and one son: Ann–born 15 Oct 1834; Mary–born 1 June 1837; Fanny–born 18 July 1840; Sarah–born 15 Feb 1844.

In the year 1845, when Sarah was about one year old, her parents and sisters left England and came to this country for the Gospel’s sake. After a six weeks voyage they landed in St. Louis where they discovered that Sarah was totally deaf. This tragedy was due to an illness Sarah had on the ship.

While in St. Louis, a son, James Henry was born, July 1846. This child passed away just five weeks after birth and was buried in St. Louis. Three years after their arrival in St. Louis, Sarah’s father, William Eckersley, died in 1847 at the age of 37, and was buried in St. Louis.

Note: In the book, Pioneer Women of Faith & Fortitude, Vol I, a biography of Hannah Hardy Eckersley Crompton states:

The following year (after the birth and death of baby James Henry) William went into town, and some say he was mugged and killed for the money he had hidden in his coat, because when he was found there was no money. This left Hannah with four small girls and no support. She took employment at the largest hotel in St. Louis and earned enough money to get the family to Council Bluffs, Iowa, the taking off place for Utah.

Sarah’s mother left St. Louis in 1850 with family and went to Council Bluffs, Iowa. There she met and married John Crompton. This family, with the desire to come to Zion, began their trek west. Upon their arrival in Platte River Nebraska, a daughter, Emma, was born to them on the 21st of July 1853. A few months later they arrived in Salt Lake.

They lived for a short time in Cottonwood, where Sarah’s sister, Elvira, was born, 15 November 1855. Later the family moved to Camp Floyd (Cedar Fork) where they resided until after the arrival of Johnson’s army. Later, the family moved to American Fork, where the children were finally raised.

Although Sarah was totally deaf, she displayed an intelligent mind with great intuition and much wit and a sense of good humor.

She was known to play an April Fool’s joke on occasion; one of which was remembered by friends of her childhood. One day when she was about 10 years of age, as she was playing in front of her house, a wagon load of wheat driven by John Herbert, came by. Sarah ran to the young driver of the wagon and motioned to him that grain was falling on the ground from the wagon. He stopped his horses and getting down from his wagon, he went around to the back to inspect. At this moment, Sarah clapped her hands and laughed merrily.

Sarah was a very good swimmer as a small child and could dive as well. One of her favorite games was to dive into the deep creek bed which ran, perhaps, the distance of half block. At times pennies were tossed into the creek by the passerby for the purpose of watching her dive in, like a little fish, after them.

She grew into a beautiful woman, with black hair and blue eyes. She was about 5 feet 5 inches tall and very slender. She was as light as a feather on her feet, having never been known to stumble or to be awkward.

At the dances, she was the belle of the ball. All the men liked her and wanted to dance with her, because she never missed a step.

She learned to spin and weave at a very early age. She learned also to knit and crochet and to sew fine seams by hand. She did these things very well and was very particular with her work. She was well known for her find handicraft. She also made straw hats. After her marriage and family had arrived, she took the time to teach her daughters the fine arts of sewing while they were at a very young and tender age.

At the age of twenty-three, on the 15th of December, 1867, she became the plural wife of William Walker Robinson. The wedding took place in the Endowment House in Salt Lake City, Utah. They made their home on the corner of 1st West and 1st South in American fork, Utah.
Sarah became the mother of five children: Sarah Ann–born 16 September 1868; Hannah–born in 1871 and died 1872; Fannie–born 25 May 1876; Lot–born 19 January 1880; and Melinda–born 16 January 1883.

Sarah Robinson lived through the hardships of pioneer life from her birth and never faltered in the faith. Her husband’s first wife died August 12, 1876, leaving a family of eight children to Sarah’s care, adding to the two which were her own. She finished raising them to the best of her ability. She was 32 at the time.

Although handicapped by loss of speech through deafness caused by illness when a small child, and thus unable to read, she gleaned a remarkable spirit by her attendance at church and so great was her power of feeling that it seemed to more than balance her deficiencies. Her implicit faith was an example and inspiration to others. She was a loving mother and an industrious citizen, passing through all the hardships incident to pioneer life, never faltering.

She was an immaculate housekeeper and a very good cook, always seeming to know instinctively how to make food taste so very good.

Sarah could tell you when a train was coming two miles away and from which direction. Her great intuitiveness and discernment of spirit, which was displayed in so many ways, was her greatest boon and many times a life saver. For example, in the early days of her marriage, upon returning to her home, she sensed the presence of someone in the house. Quietly, she stepped to her bed and looking under she found a man crouched there. Acting quickly, she grabbed her broom and whacking him, she chased him from the house.

She always had a flock of chickens which she always kept confined in a net wire fence. The neighbors chickens would come to her yard and lay eggs and when Sarah found them, she would take them to the neighbor who owned the chickens. In her own way or language she always sang to her babies as she rocked them to sleep. She could always tell, somehow when her babies had awakened. :She was a loving and gentle mother to her children, and showed great faith in their behalf many times. When daughter Fannie, about 7 years of age, became very ill, Sarah called her own mother to her home to help her nurse the child to health. One evening as Sarah’s husband returned home from work he was met by his mother-in-law, to be informed that Fannie had passed away just a few minutes before. William, without a word, turned and ran next door south to his neighbor, Patriarch William Greenwood, who hastened back with him and helped administer to Fannie. The faith of this couple was exercised in the prayer offered to their Father in Heaven, for the restored life of their child and their prayers were answered. Fannie lived and grew to womanhood, to marry and raise a family of her own.

William Robinson was a very good man and a good husband to Sarah. He loved her dearly, and because of her handicap, he was blessed with inspiration in her behalf. He did much toward the disciplining and teaching of their children and the administering to the sick in the family.

Although Sarah was totally deaf, she did much of her own shopping, taking her own eggs to market and counting her own change when she received it.

She was a lover of nature all of her life. She took great pleasure in everything that goes to making a home beautiful, to the flowers and shrubs about her house, that one could hardly pass by without stopping to admire their splendor. Her plants were always at their best, and Sarah experienced great joy in giving flowers to her many friends and neighbors which gained her many loyal friends. A prize was once offered for the best kept lawn and flower garden, and William and Sarah’s place took the prize.

William passed away on the 21st of September 1923, at the age of 90 years, leaving Sarah alone at the age of 79. One year later her eldest daughter, Sarah Ann, who had been ill for many years, passed away on November 13, 1924.

Sarah, who loved to take long walks to and from her son Lot’s home in American Fork, took her last walk to her son’s home on March 14, 1929. In two nights there, her spirit quietly and peacefully passed from her body as she slept, in the early hours of the morning of 16th of March, 1929, at the age of 85 years.

At the time of her death, her descendants consisted of not only her own children, but 31 grandchildren and 27 great-grandchildren.

ANN ETTA ECKERSLEY DRAPER

ANN ETTA ECKERSLEY DRAPER


By Erma Taylor Livingston & Wanda Livingston Bond February 17, 1956

Obtained from DUP Museum History Dept. by Carolyn J. Christensen

Ann Etta Eckersley was born in Oldham, Lancashire, England on October 15, 1834. Her parents were William Eckersley and Hannah Hardy Eckersely.

Her mother embraced the gospel in England, after hearing it explained by a Mormon Elder. At the age of eleven, she, with her parents and three sisters, Mary, Fanny and Sarah, ages 8, 5 and 3 months respectfully, emigrated to American on a sailing vessel known as the Palmyra. They were six weeks crossing the sea.

They first settled in St. Louis. A baby boy was born there in 1846, and was named James Henry Eckersley. Six weeks later he died. Ann’s father died in 1847. Both of the deceased were buried in St. Louis. (Note-CJC: For details of William’s murder, see his history.)

Her mother worded that the Planter Hotel, then known as the largest in St. Louis. With the money she earned, she saved enough to take her family up the river to Council Bluffs. While living there, she met and married John Crompton. To them a baby girl was born, but died and was buried in Council Bluffs. (Note-CJC: See history of John Crompton & Hannah Hardy for more details.)

They, both being members of the Latter Day Saints Church, soon began to plan and prepare to follow the Saints to Utah, and in the Spring of 1853, they left in an independent company. Their captain was Edward Pugh. When they reached the North Platte River in the state of Nebraska, a baby girl was born, which they named Margaret Emma. *1. They forded the river the next morning, and they arrived in Utah in September.

That fall they picked up potatoes on shares and earned enough to last them through the winter. They then moved to Little cottonwood, where they resided for two years, then to Cedar Valley (Camp Floyd area) but because of the Indians being on the warpath, they moved to American Fork in 1856. *2 Here they passed through all the hardships of pioneer life. Many times they were without bread and lived on thistle roots and wild berries. The first grain they raised was barley, because it ripened earlier than other grain. This they ground in a hand coffee mill and made bread from it.

I remember hearing my great-grandmother Crompton tell how one Christmas when my grandmother Ann Etta was working for a family who were much better off financially than they were, the lady gave her a pan of white flour and the day off, so Ann Etta walked six miles to bring the flour home to the family for their Christmas dinner. Great grandmother said that was the best dinner they had eaten since crossing the plains. *3.

At the age of 23 years, Ann met and married William Lathrop Draper. They were married in Draper, January 1857. The later years of their life was spent in the old home at Freedom, Sanpete, Utah. They both died in that home.

Ann Etta was a very hard worker, and to help with the family expenses she did much sewing. The one item she was an expert at was making men’s trousers, fixing them just a little better than anyone else could. She also taught sewing classes in Moroni and Freedom. Her children’s dresses were beautifully made, all sewed by hand. She was outstanding at designing her own patters for eyelet embroider. She also corded the wool, spun the yarn and wove the material for their dresses.

She loved to visit and mingle with people. She would go to visit at a home where the mother was ill or had been taken from the family or where other members were ill. She would get there before sun-up and stay until sun-down, doing washing, ironing, mending cleaning house, or any other task needing to be done in the house. I don’t think she ever left a home without a needle, thread, and thimble in her skirt pocket.

She was a midwife and for years was the only help to be had for miles around,. Her charges were from fifty cents to one dollar for caring for the mother and baby for three weeks, and within needy homes there was no charge. In many homes where a contagious disease had taken a loved one, she did the preparing of the body for burial.

She had a beautiful voice and did much part singing. *4. She was a very outspoken person, but would never say anything uncomplimentary of anyone not present.

After the death of her husband, she took her aged mother and step-father into her home and cared for them until her mother’s death. The step-father then went with his own children.

She was a very graceful dancer and was an accomplished step dancer, taking part on many programs. She was invited to dance at the Black Hawk Encampment at Ephraim, but as she was walking on the icy sidewalk, she fell and not realizing the extent of her injuries she continued on the place of entertainment, dancing for hundreds of onlookers with her fancy steps, little dreaming this would be her last performance. This was another act of courage that this wonderful woman gave for her succeeding generations to read of and call her blessed.

This accident caused a paralysis which caused her to spend her last years in a wheelchair.

I am thankful to be her granddaughter. I knew and loved her, and I feel she was a choice spirit sent by God to fulfill a wonderful mission and set an example for us, her posterity, to follow.

She passed away at Freedom, Utah, in the evening of June 10, 1915, leaving a large posterity.

1. Note-CJC: John Crompton had a sister named Margaret in Council Bluffs, but no record of her can be found after they left Council Bluffs. She was not included in the roster of the Edward Pugh group. Did they name their baby after a deceased sister of John? Also, for more details of the birth of Margaret Emma, see Hannah’s history.

2. An interesting incident concerning the Indians being on the warpath is in the George Kirkham Histories.

3. The “I” throughout this history would be Erma Taylor Livingstone who told this to Wanda Livingstone Bond.

4. For more about her singing, see the history of Fannie Eckersley Brown Draper, her sister; also in that history is more about her husband’s death, and the plural marriage family in which Ann Etta lived.



* * * * * * * *

The above history was written by my mother, Erma M. Taylor Livingston, wife of earl Livingston.

The following is an account of a story told me several times by my mother. It is a story of her grandmother, and great grandmother, Ann Etta Eckersley Draper. I am the 4th child, a daughter, of Earl and Erma Livingstone. (Written by Wanda Livingston Bond)

At the time Ann Etta was young, the church leaders were encouraging the young ladies to marry into polygamy. Ann Etta had gone to a church meeting where this was being preached. She, wanting a man for herself, sharing him with no-one, stood up in the meeting, expressed her feelings on the subject, then whisked down the aisle and out of the church building.

The visiting brethren often had dinner at the home of Ann Etta’s parents, John and Hannah Hardy Crompton. This day was such a day. Ann Etta was there to help serve the meal. She was recognized by one of the brethren as the outspoken young lady who had left the church in the middle of the meeting. The visiting brother commented on the matter. Ann Etta, not being afraid to speak up on the subject told him that she didn’t plan to share her man with any other woman.
She and William Lathrop Draper were married 19 Jan 1857 at Draper, Utah. On 19 Aug 1863, her took a second wife, Ellen A. Wilhelm. On 13 Aug 1864, he married Ann Etta’s younger sister (widow) Fanny Eckersley Brown.

* * * * * * * *

The following information was taken from a history written by Fern A. Johnson and Erma Taylor Livingston.

Ann Etta’s sister Mary married Peter Erikson.

Ann Etta’s half sister, Elvira Crompton was born in 1856 in Little Cottonwood, Utah.

Ann Etta’s husband, William Lathrop Draper was the son of William draper and Elizabeth Staker Draper, born 4 March 1938 in Kirtland, Ohio, and died 3 May 1887 in Freedom, San Peter, Utah.

Children of Ann Etta and William Draper

Ann Maria Draper b. 21 Nov 1856, Spanish Fork d. 3 Dec 1943, Provo

md. Andrew Whitlock 21 Mar 1877

Mary Delina Draper b. 10 Feb 1860, Draper d. 22 Nov 1946 , Freedom

md. Martin A. Taylor 13 Jul 1879

Julia Ann Draper b. 14 Feb 1862, Draper d. 16 Feb 1862, Draper

William Albert Draper b. 2 May 1863, Rockville d. 22 Feb 1864, Rockville

Elnora Hannah Draper b. 18 Oct 1865 d. 20 Jun 1939, Axtell

md. Vasco H. Taylor 6 Jan 1885

Lathrop Lee Draper b. 6 Sep 1868 Chicken Creek d.31 Aug 1869, Chicken Creek

Loren Staker Draper b. 13 Aug 1870, Moroni d. 18 Mar 1950 Pueblo, Clrd

md. Francis Taylor 6 Jan 1885

Ella May Draper b. 5 May 1875, Freedom d. 5 Mar 1912, Freedom

md. James Elmer Simonsen 1898

William Love Draper b. 12 Dec 1877 , Freedom d. 27 Jan 1962, Salt lake City

md. Hannah Jensen 12 Jul 1905

Andrew Adolphine Draper b. 4 Apr 1880, Freedom d. 2 Aug 1880, Freedom

FANNIE ECKERSLEY BROWN DRAPER

Fanny is a daugter of William Eckersely and Hannah Hardy Eckersley Crompton.  Her sister married William Walker Robinson, and her niece married Edward Wrigley.

FANNY ECKERSLEY BROWN DRAPER

By Mildred Bradford Sorensen, Gladys Ballinger Jones, and Delta Draper


History obtained from DUP Museum History Dept. by Carolyn Christensen

Fannie Eckersley, daughter of William Eckersley and Hannah Hardy, was born 18 July 1840 at Oldham, Lancashire, England. She was the 3rd daughter and 3rd child. The family were converted to the Mormon Faith in 1841 and on Friday, 17 January, 1845 with four children, Ann, Mary, Fannie and Sarah, they set sail from Liverpool, England in the ship “Palmyra” for America. The route across the ocean took 16 weeks to cross the Atlantic Ocean. In crossing the ocean the ship sailed by wind. Some days they made good progress; then the wind would turn, driving the ship back. This happened many times during the voyage. ( Note-CJC: The baby sister, Sarah fell ill during the voyage, and as a result, became deaf for the rest of her life. See History of Sarah Eckersley Robinson) Their route was by way of New Orleans and up the Mississippi River.

They debarked at St. Louis, Missouri, about 1 Mar 1845 to seek employment for family support and to create a fund to pay their way to Utah. Misfortune overtook them; another child, a son James, was born and died in 1840, living only about six weeks. The next year, the father died, leaving his wife and four small girls with no support. (Note-CJC: Other sources indicate the father was murdered while in town one night for the money they had saved which was sewn into his coat See history of William Eckersley.) The mother took employment at the largest hotel, “The Planters”, in St. Louis and there earned enough money to get the family to Council Point, Iowa, the taking off place for Utah.

Here the mother married John Crompton in 1850, giving the children a step-father who was a great help at this time. (Note-CJC: John Crompton was 15 years younger than Hannah, the mother, at the time of marriage. See history of Hannah Hardy Eckersley Crompton.) A daughter was born to this couple in 1851. She died and was buried at Council Point.

In the spring of 1853 the family left for Utah with an independent Company of which Edward Pugh was the captain. Misfortune again dogged their footsteps. Another daughter was born at North Platte, Nebraska. Like many other saints, they suffered the trials and troubles of pioneers crossing the plains. The weather was very bad with terrible storms. Lightning flashed, thunder roared, and it seemed the elements were no longer under control. The wind was so strong the wagons had to be chained to the ground. The mother was so sick she begged to be left by the wayside. (Note-CJC: According to the history of Hannah, it was under these harrowing weather conditions that the daughter was born in or under a wagon chained to the ground.) So we see these pioneers suffered much for the sake of the gospel. They had many harrowing experiences with the Indians; but with all their trials they continued westward.

One time Fannie (Note-CJC: about age 13) went with others hunting a new campground. Her saddle turned and she was dragged some distance by the horse, but was still able to continue with the family.

They reached Salt Lake Valley during September 1853, where food and rest helped restore their weary bodies. Food was scarce, however, and prices were high so they thought themselves fortunate to get employment harvesting potatoes on shares. They harvested enough to save them from starvation for the winter months.

In the spring they started out in search of a home. They tried to make a home at Little Cottonwood; but failing to get a foothold there, they tried their luck at Cedar Valley. They were frightened from there to American Fork by Indian depredations. During this time they were in dire poverty and compelled to subsist largely on thistles, edible weeds, wild berries, roots, rabbits and any wild thing they could find or capture.

Their first planted crop was barley. They chose this because it would mature earlier than other grain. When it ripened, they began grinding it in a coffee mill to make bread. They were wholly without sugar so they raised beets and carrots, out of which they made a sort of molasses in an attempt to appease their gnawing hunger for sweets. Many times during their hardships, when they would arise before sunrise, the ground would be covered with manna. It was thin like sugar cakes. Brigham Young told them to gather only what they needed for the day or it would spoil. Fannie and her sisters Ann and Mary often gathered the manna and it helped appease the pangs of hunger for sweets. Getting clothing to cover their bodies was even harder. As a girl, Fannie was taught economy, thrift, faith and love. No doubt they all worked hard each day doing their share in the home and preparing themselves for homes of their own.

One night Fannie and a girl friend went to meeting to hear John Weaver Brown, a returned missionary from the Sandwich Islands. She said she would like to have him for her husband. According to the accounts from his missionary diary and journal, he returned from his mission on 9 May 1859. It is not known where the marriage took place. Fannie received her endowments and was sealed to her husband 18 April at the endowment house in Salt Lake City.

They were married about six months when John was killed 3 May 1960 while digging a canal to bring water from Dry Creek to the Draper settlement for irrigating purposes. His body was crushed and mutilated by a large granite stone falling on him. He was laid to rest 6 May 1860, leaving his 19 year old wife a widow and an expectant mother. Her child, John Eckersley Brown was born January 1861. Fannie remained a widow about 3 years living with her husband’s folks.

In 1864 she married her sister’s husband, William Lathrop Draper being his third plural wife. They were called to southern Utah to settle that part of the country. Fannie had two children born at Rockville. After a few years of rugged pioneering, William brought his families back to central Utah and lived in Juab Co. for about a year. Then he moved to Sanpete County and established homes for his three wives, Ann, Ellen and Fannie. All three women had large families. Fannie had six more children born in Moroni and neighboring towns.

All the pioneer women were subjected to great hardships along with troublesome times with Indians, and Fannie was the first white woman to live in Freedom Utah. Her husband was anxious to take up new land and probably moved his youngest wife to pioneer the new settlement. But they had their good times and amusements along with life’s problems. At their home they had parties and dances. William, a man of many talents, loved music and played the violin well. He was an accomplished dancer and his wives and daughters enjoyed him as a dancing partner. He and his three wives made a good singing quartet and enlivened their parties with vocal numbers. The Virginia Reel, and Quadrille were favorite dances. While William called the quadrille, he played his fiddle and beat time with his foot.

Fannie, with her sister Ann, and Ellen (second wife) shared the triumphs and defeats of a united family. Great sorrow was brought to them when their husband, William Lathrop Draper, was dragged by a horse and killed 3 May 1887 at Freedom Utah. Again she was left a widow with children to support, the youngest being three years at the time.

After her husband’s death, she lived in Moroni and neighboring towns until about 1900. Then she started living with her children, most of the time with her youngest daughter Zoe Sorensen in Centerfield. She helped care for Zoe’s children, mending their clothes and helping with the house work.

As she grew older, Fannie loved to sew and make patch work quilts, which she sewed by hand, for her children and grandchildren. Even after her 90th birthday she did a lot of crochet work and knitting and liked to read.

She loved her grandchildren and took a lot of joy in doing little things for them. Perhaps it was a cookie she had slipped into her apron pocket or a piece of candy from her trunk, she would give to the children.

Fannie had fairly good health until she suffered a stroke. She was the mother of six sons and three daughters. Three of her children, Laura, Leigh and Zoe survived her. She died at her daughter Zoe’s home in Manti, 12 January 1933. She was ninety two and one-half years old and had lived a rich life. She was buried 15 Jan 1933 at Freedom, Utah on her own farm land, the cemetery being part of her homestead.

The obituary found in the local newspaper said this of Fannie:

“She died of general debility. She was the oldest woman in Manti. She had three children living at the time of her death – Leigh Draper of Centerfield, Utah and Mrs. Laura Peterson, Ely, Nevada and Mrs. Amy Zoe Hoyt, Manti. She had three sisters still living at the time of her death – Mrs. Emma Smith and Mrs. Mary Erickson, both of American Fork and Mrs. Elvira Steel of Idaho Falls, Idaho. Services were held Sunday at 2 p.m. in the Moroni West Ward chapel, Bishop Ephriam Nelson officiated. Her body was at the Deseret Mortuary in Manti. Internment was at Freedom, Utah.

History written by Audrey Livingston adds the following:

Of her first marriage:

According to his journal, he (Brown) returned from his mission 8 May 1859. They courted about six months and she was 19 and he was 23. They were married in 11 Nov 1859. It is not known where the marriage took place.

Of her second marriage:

William Lathrop (Doc) Draper married her sister Annetta and was living in Rockville, Kane, Utah.

William Lathrop Draper made a trip to Draper in 1854 and called upon the widow Fannie. On the 13 Aug 1864 he married Fannie who was the sister to William’s first wife, Annetta, and Fannie is his 3rd wife and they had ten children.

The following is taken from the book, “Women of Faith and Fortitude”.

BIOGRAPHY: Fannie Eckersley Brown Draper

BIRTHDAY: 18 Jul 1840 Oldham, Lancashire, England

DEATH: 12 Jan 1933 Freedom, Utah

PARTENTS: William Eckersley & Hannah Hardy

PIONEER: Sep 1853 Edward Pugh Wagon Train

SPOUSE I: John Weaver Brown

MARRIED: Nov 1858 (sld. 18 Apr 1860, End. House)

DEATH SP: 3 May 1860 Draper, Salt Lake, Utah

CHILDREN: John Eckersley Brown Jan 1861

SPOUSE II: William Lathrop Draper

MARRIED: 1864

DEATH SP: 3 May 1887 Freedom, Utah

CHILDREN:
      Joseph Heber 9 Sep 1865

     Riley James 11 Nov 1867 d. 1868

     Elizabeth Ethel 10 Oct 1869

     Wilford Lowell 10 May 1872

     Laura Dame 16 Se0p 1874

     Melvin Hardy 3 Apr 1877 d. 1877

     Wilmot Leigh 1 Apr 1879

     Amy Zoe 1 Jan 1884

Fannie Eckersley was born in England in 1840. The family was converted in 1841, and in 1845 sailed on the ship “Palmyra” for America. They stayed in St. Louis for a time to earn money for the trip to Utah. However Fannie’s father and a brother died leaving the mother with 4 little girls to support. Her mother remarried, and in 1853 the family left for the Salt Lake Valley in an Independent Company captained by Edward Pugh.

They tried eking out a living in several different t areas; Little Cottonwood, Cedar Valley, and American Fork, but were in dire poverty and forced to eat thistles, wild berries, rabbits, etc. At times they would get up before sunrise and gather “manna” covering the ground. President Young told them to gather only as much as they could use that day. It was thin like sugar cakes. As a girl Fannie was taught thrift, economy faith and love.

Fannie married John Weaver Brown in 1859, but he was killed while digging a canal in 1860. A huge granite boulder fell on him and crushed him. Fannie was a widow before her first son was born in 1861. She remained a widow for about 5 years, living with her in-laws. Then she married William Lathrop Draper as his 3rd wife in 1864. She had 8 more children.

The family was called to settle in Rockville, then Chicken Creek, then Moroni, Utah. William was a man of many talents. He played the violin was an accomplished dancer, and with his 3 wives made a good singing quartet. They enlivened the parties in the area. In 1887 he was dragged by a horse and died from the results. Fannie was left a widow again, her youngest child only 3 years of age. In her later years she lived with different children, but mostly with Amy Zoe, where she died at the age of 92 years in 1933. All of her children were sealed to her first husband.

VOICES IN THE HEART

Voices in My Heart

It was the first day of census, and all through the land

Each pollster was ready, a black book in hand.

He mounted his horse for a long dusty ride,

His books and his quills were tucked close by his side.

A long dusty ride down a road barely there

Toward the smell of fresh bread wafting up through the air.

The woman was tired, with lines in her face,

And the wisps of brown hair she tucked back into place.

She gave him some water, as they sat at the table

And answered his questions the best she was able.

He asked her of children....yes she had quite a few.

The oldest was twenty, the youngest not two.

She held up a toddler, with cheeks round and red.

His sister she whispered, was napping in bed.

She noted each person who lived there with pride,

And she felt the faint stirring of the wee one inside.

She noted the sex, the color, the age.

The marks from the quill soon filled up the page.

At the number of children, she nodded her head

And he saw her lips quiver for the ones that were dead.

The places of birth she never forgot.....

Was it Carolina, or Tennessee, or Georgia or not?

They came from Scotland, of that she was clear.

But she wasn’t quite sure, just how long they’d been here.

They spoke of employment, of schooling and .

They could read some, and write some...though really not much.

When questions were answered, his job there was done,

So he mounted his horse, and rode toward the sun.

We can almost imagine, his voice loud and clear,

May Bod bless you all for another ten years.

Now picture a time warp....it’s now you and me

As we search for the people on our family tree.

We squint at the census, and scroll down so slow

As we search for that entry from so long ago.

Could they only imagine on that long ago day,

That the entries they made would affect us this way.

If they knew.....would they wonder at the yearning we feel,

And the searching that makes them so increasingly real?

We can hear if we listen, the words they impart

Through the blood in their veins, and their voice in our heart.

Author Unknown

THE EDWARD MENTA & RULA WRIGLEY FAMILY

I was excited to get the following email from Dalin Wrigley – son of Edward Menta and Rula Wrigley. Menta is the son of Edward (Steele) and Sarah Russon Wrigley. I vaguely remembered Kim and Dallin from when I was young and often wondered where they were.


From Dalin:

I was using Google Image search to find a picture of Joseph Wrigley, which led me to your blog. I got the picture; thank you and found several others. One interesting picture I found on your site was of Evelyn Wrigley, wife of Robinson Wrigley. I haven’t seen her since Robinson died (uncle Bob) to me. I am the youngest son of Edward Menta Wrigley, Robinson’s younger brother. We grew up in American Fork and often went to Uncle Bob and Aunt Evelyn’s home.


As generations change unfortunately we lose touch with people we should keep in contact with.


My name is Dallin Wrigley; I live in Las Vegas, NV.


Thanks for bringing back some good memories to me. I forwarded the picture to my brother and my sister. I’m sure they will be interested as well.


I replied that I would like to post his e-mail. I received the following, as well as the attached pictures.

From Dalin:

I don’t mind at all if you post my email. Perhaps I’ll make some new contacts in a family that doesn’t know each other very well.


I have attached three pictures. The first is of Edward M & Rula Wrigley from maybe about 1950. The second is from a little reunion of just the three of us (Edward & Rula’s children). It was in the summer of 1985. See if you can pick out Joyce, Kim, and Dallin. The third is of Andrea, my wife and me from 2001.


Thanks again,

Dallin Wrigley

Edward Menta & Rula Wrigley

Dallin Wrigley

 The Edward Menta and Rula Wrigley Family in 1985.